We're back! And we're dog tired. Richard more so than I, because he did the driving plus he stayed up with Rachel. Rachel woke up when we arrived home at about 2 am, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. The two of them didn't get to bed till 4 am this morning. No rest for the weary - Richard had a 10 am meeting and I had clients waiting for my attention, so the morning was a bit of a mad rush. I guess that's the best way to get back into the swing of things - by jumping right in! Ryan, however, is having an extra day off - he skipped school today because he woke up too late.

I have lots of photos of our trip to share, so sit back and enjoy!

As you already know, the trip centred on the celebrations for Ryan's 4th birthday. Thanks again to his Aunty Margaret for the beautiful cake. We brought the train engine back with us!

Here's Ryan with his grandpa. Ryan is busy collecting the letters and numbers off his birthday cake and making sure that they are all accounted for, while explaining each one to his grandpa. Ryan has become very conversational lately and is happy to interact with others.

Ryan's aunty Mary bought him a model train set with tracks. I asked Ryan to pose for a photo with it and so he crossed his legs for the shot. Hmm. He's definitely not camera shy!

More modelling! Here's Ryan in his cousin's Nerf gear. The black tunic is not really a tunic - it's a vest! It's so big on Ryan. I think he thinks he's a superhero because this is the pose he gave me when I asked for a photo.

The weapon completed the get-up and gave him more ideas for poses!

At home, we do not give Ryan any "weapons" to play with. No guns, no swords, no bow and arrow. So the only weapons he gets to play with are his cousins' weapons. He looks pretty pleased here, although I think it's more of the entire outfit that he finds exciting and not just the weapon.

Ryan's birthday dinner was also our first "lo hei" dinner for the upcoming Year of the Snake. Always a nice warm feeling to unite around a dish of "yee sang".

On the weekend, we spent quite a lot of time with Richard's family. We had our meals together, after which we would adjourn to Margaret's house for chit-chat and mahjong. Mahjong is a family sport in Richard's family.

On weekdays, we were on our own during the day, as Ryan's cousins are in school and the adults are working. Richard and I managed to squeeze in some shopping here and there. The highlight of all that shopping - Superdry from Japan! They were having a sale so Richard and I picked up a few pieces.

Shopping is not Ryan's thing so he had to find various ways to entertain himself.

We met up with Terri, Vincent and my brother for dinner on Monday. We left the littles with Margaret - it was one of the rare occasions being without both of them. Babydoll was fast asleep in Margaret's arms when we came to pick her and Ryan up.

Not all fun and games - we had some paperwork to attend to while we were in KL. Here's Rachel checking to make sure everything's in order!

We have a new place up in the hills, near a forest reserve. We are not staying there yet but we are thinking of making that our base in Malaysia in a few years' time. We drove up there on Wednesday. This is what the drive up looks like. Lovely, isn't it?

At present, when we are in Malaysia, we live in a well-established suburban area, fairly near Margaret's house. We used to stay in the heart of the city, right on the pubbing strip but with kids in the picture, it made more sense to move to the suburbs. There is not a lot of greenery where we are now, but there is a river near our place. The river runs right through the suburbs. Unfortunately, it's not an attraction in the area and it hasn't been groomed to be attractive at all. You won't even notice it because the houses and the malls are built right up to the river's edge. See this photo - on the right is a mall, on the left is housing.

Where's babydoll? Here she is! Trying out a headband on her - how does she look? I have a few headbands for her, none of which I use, because she has so much hair (which causes the headband to slip out of place). Looking at this photo, I might start using all those headbands after all. Margaret bought the headband in this photo.

More photos of babydoll. I love how her eyes sparkle.

And yes, if you look closely, you can see her first tooth!

Here's Rachel with her uncle (my brother). Rachel has started to fuss with strangers but I think she likes her uncle, because she doesn't fuss with him.

One last photo - here's little babydoll at dinner. It was raining and it was cold in the restaurant so we put her in a little wool coat. Most of our stay was rain-free though.

So, it was a good trip. Productive, fruitful and celebratory. Happy, happy, happy. Now, back to work!